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April’s not fooling around – part 2

Less thana week since Part 1, and there’s so much beginning to bloom that I don’t know if it will all fit in today. I was walking through the garden yesterday and a few were popping out, but a day later, WOW!

I’ve been closely monitoring Redbuds (left) for the past several weeks, and finally they’re showing color. I noticed some on my drive home, and while mine aren’t quite that far along they’ll be in full bloom in a day or two. Dogwoods (below) aren’t far behind, the buds are opening, though it will take another week for the flowers to open fully.

Elizabeth (below), the beautiful yellow flowered deciduous magnolia, finally caught up to Jane, but Royal Star and Dr. Merrill are starting to fade. Still, all are magnificent in bloom at the same time.

Cherries are still in bloom, Kwanzan buds are swelling. Certainly they must be in full glory in town for the end of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Flowering pear blossoms are being overtaken by bright green leaves. Today the Amelanchier (below) bloomed. I had to remove a swamp red maple yesterday that was overhanging it and several Japanese maples. There will still be filtered shade, but the maple hung too low and threatened to overwhelm the others.

This was quite a project, with my son hoisting his chainsaw thirty feet up a ladder, and a couple fellows tugging a rope so the huge limbs would clear the branches of the amelanchier and Japanese maples. My role was chiefly to point and yell. Amazingly, for tree work is not our trade, the project came off exactly as planned, which is rare in the garden.

Another maple, this one a keeper, is making a show, though not extravagant. The flowers of the Fern Leaf Japanese maple (above) are unusual, folded up with the emerging leaves.

Shrubs and perennials are emerging, some with leaves, but others bloom directly out of dormancy. ‘Ogon’ spirea (above) was planted in the Fall for its threadlike yellow foliage, but is covered in dainty white flowers before the leaves have fully opened. I’m not quite certain that Ogon will stand out, not substantial enough to compete with its neighbors.

Viburnum buds are quite colorful, but Carlesi, Burkwood, and Juddi have not opened yet. The first flowers of Kerria japonica (left) are showing. This twiggy shrub lightens up an otherwise dull, dry, shady area.

Nearby, Euphorbia has begun to bloom. Though not evergreen, the foliage never goes completely dormant. This one (one because I have forgotten its name though it is quite common) is planted in very dry shade, a difficult lot in a plant’s life, but it does very well and spreads nicely as it was intended to do. Another euphorbia (below), different in every aspect except a slight resemblance in the flower, grows in full sun. The foliage is threadlike, covered in early Spring by striking blooms.

Across the stone path from the dry shady spot of the euphorbia is Epimedium ‘sulphureum’ (left) with airy flower stalks, and the variegated Brunnera (below).

There are more blossoms, buds, and leaves to enjoy, but not until next week.